Dallas head coach Jason Kidd welcomed “an incredible day for the Mavericks” as the team scored their first overall pick in the NBA Draft.
The Cooper Flag sweepstakes came to a dramatic ending Monday night. There was a 1.8% chance that the Mavericks would land a No. 1 pick.
New Life was brought to life by the Mavericks after the fanbase was heartbroken by the heart-warming trade that sent franchise star Luka Donsic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
In next month’s draft in Brooklyn, Dallas will almost certainly choose the former Duke Blue Devil Flag, and will recently choose the Consensus National Player of the Year and the first team nationwide.
Kid told the DLLS Network: “It’s an incredible day for the Mavericks. We’re all very excited.”
Watch: The Best Cooper Flag Freshman Year at Duke
The 6-foot-9 forward, Flagg is considered the top recruit in the 2025 class since winning multiple National High School Player of the Year honors as a senior.
The 18-year-old has received both ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year awards. This joined Zion Williamson, Marvin Bagley III and Jahil Okafor as the only players in conference history to achieve feats in the same season.
He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assisted the game in college as Duke fell into a narrow defeat against Houston in the NCAA National Championship Game last month.
Even before playing a single college match, Flag was named to the US Selection Team to practice with the US men’s national team before flying out to the 2024 Parisiolmpics.
The teenager told ESPN Postlottalie: “For me, this whole experience has been amazing and, like you said, I look forward to being a two-way player.
“That’s something I did since I was a young man, so I’m trying to keep it going to my full potential.”